‘As part of the CityPlace development on a section of former railway land in downtown Toronto, Block 24 consists of two towers, Montage, located at 25 Telegram Mews and Neo, located at 4K Spadina Avenue.

With 750,000 square feet of residential and 30,000 square feet of retail, Block 24 won Best Building Design in the 2006 Home Builders Awards for the architectural expression being light and contemporary, says Neil Hylton, project manager with Concord Adex Inc….

The project is characterized by two distinct building types: a linear loft building on Spadina, which references the traditional red brick warehouses that have historically lined the street, and a point tower, says Shirley Blumberg, partner, KPMB Architects.

“Within the same stringent economic and technical constraints of a typical residential development, we designed a complex that is more urbane with an animated grade level,” says Blumberg. “KPMB designed the interiors of the units and the building’s public spaces. We also designed the model suites for the marketing pavilion. This extensive involvement in a large complex residential project was a great challenge for us. Great flexibility was required to meet the changing requirements of the client. The building underwent extended redesign and material substitutions. The process was very fluid and many revisions were made during design and construction in order to meet budget constraints. The materials used were window wall for the glazing, brick was substituted with terracotta-coloured precast panels and stone at the base of the buildings was substituted with Fibre C, a composite panel system.”’

The complete article is available in the August 2009 issue of Award Magazine.